“Pop music shouldn’t always get a bad rap,” says Top Pops!, a recurring selection of pop music highlights across a selection of styles. In both today’s featured tracks from Toro Y Moi and Shock, the power lies in nuance rather than pounding you over the head with pop hooks. SEE ALSO +++ FULL POST +...Read...

Voyeuristic eyes take one through sexually deviant territories in the Thee Oh Sees‘ “Lupine Dominus” and Kasper Bjørke‘s “Bohemian Soul”. Both music videos contain similar themes and color palettes, but one is reminiscent of methy eye bags and Vegas Old Strip-style filthiness; the other travels halfway across the world to offer a beatific view of...Read...

Whim is a collection of media focused on rock/pop/garage and everything surrounding it. Mellowing things out with recent Domino signee Ducktails and the unpredictably satisfying Levek. SEE: FULL POST + ALL WHIM POSTS + ALL MUSIC COLUMNS Ducktails It’s still early, but you can now hear a teaser track from Ducktails’ The Flower Lane,...Read...

In this back-to-back exploration of animal portraiture, the bleak reality of unwanted shelter dogs contrasts sharply against the vividness of exotic animals set against brilliant backdrops. Ultimately, both celebrate life and humanity’s relationship to the animal kingdom, though in vastly different ways. The full post includes personal summaries on what each artist hopes to accomplish...Read...

IN SHORT: “It’s not your average Black Moth Super Rainbow Album.” In discussing early album reviews for Cobra Juicy, Black Moth Super Rainbow’s de facto leader Tobacco called the album “the 1st bmsr I really got right.” It’s an interesting comment, especially for a band who pride themselves on the reckless nature of their...Read...

Attending Culture Collide is the easiest and cheapest way to feel like you have been around the world in just four days. When you watch two US bands open a show where groups from Singapore, Argentina and the Netherlands are also on the bill, you start to feel like the most worldly person on the...Read...

“Pop music shouldn’t always get a bad rap,” says Top Pops!, a recurring selection of pop music highlights across a selection of styles. Here’s a cheerful post with Sub Pop Records’ Still Corners, Born Gold’s Teenage Sweater, and UK musician Chad Valley, of Jonquil, featuring Glasser‘s Cameron Mesirow. SEE ALSO +++ FULL POST + ALL...Read...

SPECTRAL HYPNOSIS is a recurring series, featuring mesmerizing songs for one to lose sense of time and space, mind and body. This post highlights the exciting new project from Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin and a track from Seattle’s relatively unknown Stenskogen. SEE ALSO: FULL POST + ALL SPECTRAL HYPNOSIS POSTS + ALL COLUMNS Tim...Read...

AURAL DEVASTATION is a regular column about heavy music. Today, Converge reasserts their importance, and Pig Destroyer get covertly political, arguably. +++ FULL POST + AURAL DEVASTATION COLUMNS + ALL MUSIC COLUMNS Converge Few bands have remained as relevant and impossible to duplicate as the Massachusetts based metalcore kings Converge. Ignoring the insane impact that...Read...

"I like pop music, but I get really bored with hearing the same sounds over and over again. I think it's a good challenge to get something stuck in someone's head but challenge them at the same time." -- Jennifer Moore